A convicted sex offender and his wife have pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping a California girl in a surprise plea deal that will spare their victim and the two daughters she had during her 18 years of captivity from taking the stand at a trial.

A lawyer in the case of a Northern California girl held captive in a backyard compound for 18 years said he expects defendant Phillip Garrido to plead guilty to all charges and his wife to go to trial unless she gets a better plea deal.

A couple charged with kidnapping an 11-year-old girl and holding her captive for 18 years have made full confessions, a defence lawyer said.

Jaycee Dugard, the girl held prisoner in California for 18 years, will be spared from giving pre-trial evidence against her alleged captors.

A REPORT by the California attorney general’s office says parole agents spoke to the woman who was held captive by a convicted rapist for 18 years and fathered his two children, but never bothered to follow it up.

A report by the California attorney general’s office says parole agents spoke to the woman who was held captive by a convicted rapist for 18 years and fathered his two children, but never bothered to follow it up.

THE US man charged with kidnapping and raping long- time captive Jaycee Dugard has “a serious mental illness” and “may not be competent to be a defendant,” his defence lawyer said in court papers.

The US man charged with kidnapping and raping long-time captive Jaycee Dugard has "a serious mental illness" and "may not be competent to be a defendant", his defence lawyer said in court papers.

A SPOKESWOMAN for Jaycee Dugard said only Dugard and her family should decide when and if a film is made based on the 18 years she spent with the man charged with kidnapping her.

CALIFORNIA corrections officials say they’re working to improve the monitoring of released sex offenders, responding to a scathing report that cited missed chances to catch the suspect accused of holding Jaycee Dugard captive for 18 years.

The man accused of kidnapping Jaycee Dugard and holding her prisoner for 18 years was not properly supervised while on parole, a report found today.

THE first pictures of Jaycee Lee Dugard reunited with her mother have been published, 18 years after she was kidnapped in the US as an 11-year-old girl.

Jaycee Dugard, who spent 18 years as a captive in a sex offender's garden, released the first photos of herself as an adult - and her first statement.

A SMILING, seemingly happy Jaycee Lee Dugard graces the cover of an upcoming issue of People Magazine as a sign that after 18 years in captivity, life is finally getting back to normal.

THE lawyer for a US woman found alive 18 years after she was kidnapped said his client initially had mixed emotions surrounding the arrest of her alleged captors but now “fully understands that some terrible things were done to her”.

The lawyer for a US woman found alive 18 years after she was kidnapped said his client initially had mixed emotions surrounding the arrest of her alleged captors but now “fully understands that some terrible things were done to her”.

US authorities ended an exhaustive weeklong search on the property where a Northern California girl was allegedly held captive for 18 years.

SIGNS of disturbed soil and the discovery of bone fragments on the property where Jaycee Dugard was held captive for 18 years could indicate something is buried on a site where authorities have been searching and cadaver dogs earlier picked up a scent.

Police investigating two missing girl cases say cadaver dogs picked up a scent that could indicate buried remains in the backyard of the couple charged with kidnapping Jaycee Dugard.

A JUDGE yesterday set bail at $30 million (€20.5m) for a California man accused of kidnapping a girl and holding her captive for 18 years.

THE alleged kidnapper in the Jaycee Lee Dugard case drugged and raped a 14-year-old girl in 1972 and there was a “good chance” there were other victims, police have said.

Kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard’s aunt said today her niece remembered her family and was getting to know her younger sister, who was just a baby when she was kidnapped 18 years ago.

THE lawyer for the wife of accused US kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido says his client misses the children her husband allegedly fathered with his victim, and says she saw them all as a family.

The lawyer for the wife of accused kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido says his client misses the children her husband allegedly fathered with his victim, and says she saw them all as a family.

A PREVIOUS victim of the man accused of kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard has spoken of her ordeal at the hands of the rapist and her relief at his latest arrest.

The man accused of abducting and sexually abusing Jaycee Lee Dugard testified during a previous kidnapping and rape case that he prowled through residential neighbourhoods as a peeping tom and had strong rape desires.

THE two police employees credited with cracking the abduction case said it was simply intuition that something was amiss when accused rapist and kidnapper Phillip Garrido showed up at a college campus with Dugard’s two daughters.

POLICE investigating Jaycee Lee Dugard’s kidnapping and captivity are turning their attention to the alleged role of Nancy Garrido, who has been described as a “monster”.

Police in the Californian town where Jaycee Lee Dugard was allegedly imprisoned for 18 years by a convicted sex offender were today examining possible links to unsolved cases of murdered and missing women in the area.

THE rape of Jaycee Dugard by convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido began within a month of her abduction at age 11, extended through her childhood and involved not only Phillip Garrido, but also his wife, Nancy, according to charges filed by El Dorado County prosecutors.

POLICE have extended their search to a property next door to the Garridos’ home.

Details emerged today of the ramshackle compound where Jaycee Lee Dugard was allegedly imprisoned, raped and shut off from society for almost two decades after being kidnapped aged 11.

A dossier of failures by authorities during Jaycee Lee Dugard’s 18-year ordeal at the hands of her captors continued to emerge today.

Two quick-thinking police employees at the University of California, Berkeley described how they set in motion Jaycee Lee Dugard’s release after nearly two decades of captivity when they encountered her alleged captor on campus.

A couple accused of snatching an 11-year-old child and keeping her imprisoned for 18 years pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges including kidnap, rape and false imprisonment.

JAYCEE LEE DUGARD was 11 on June 10, 1991, when she was kidnapped while walking to her bus stop on Washoan Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

A couple accused of snatching an 11-year-old child and keeping her imprisoned for 18 years today pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges including kidnap, rape and false imprisonment.

Forensic experts were tonight searching the home of Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapper Phillip Garrido for evidence relating to the murders of several prostitutes.

Police missed an opportunity to free Jaycee Lee Dugard in 2006 when they were called to the home where she was allegedly held for 18 years but failed to find her, a spokesman said tonight.

A woman believed to have been kidnapped as a child in 1991 is to be reunited with her family 18 years later.

A WOMAN believed to have been kidnapped as a child in 1991 is to be reunited with her family 18 years later.

A UN human rights expert today criticised the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations for effectively punishing the Palestinian people by ignoring countless Israeli violations of human rights, international law and other standards.